§ 1.1 Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns configuring data forwarding devices, such as routers for example. More specifically, the present invention concerns comparing candidate (or other) configuration information for such a device with previously stored (e.g., committed) configuration information.
§ 1.2 Related Art
The description of art in this section is not, and should not be interpreted to be, an admission that such art is prior art to the present invention. The present invention may be used for comparing configuration information for data forwarding devices.
Data forwarding devices, such as routers and switches, may be interconnected to form networks. The interconnections may be such that each data forwarding device has a plurality of input lines and a plurality of output lines. A basic function of these devices is to forward data received at their input lines to the appropriate output lines. Routers, for example, may determine the appropriate output lines based on a destination address(es) contained in the received data and forwarding tables. Switches may be configured so that data received at input lines are transferred out appropriate output lines.
Such data forwarding devices may need to be configured appropriately. This may be done by entering configuration commands and/or information through a keyboard or other type of interface into a data forwarding device. Other types of information or commands may also be entered into the device through the keyboard or interface.
When entering a command or information through a keyboard (or similar user interface) of a data forwarding device or editing an existing configuration, there is a risk that the command or information may be entered or edited incorrectly or incompletely. Such errors may cause the data forwarding device to be incorrectly configured and may lead to serious malfunctions.
Further, as can be appreciated from the foregoing, configuring data forwarding devices, such as routers for example, can be a complex task, often requiring networking expertise. Further, configuration information can become quite large, thereby increasing the likelihood of mistakes in configuration.
Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the risk that commands or information will be entered incorrectly or incompletely and to ensure that the edits are entered correctly.